Dunfermline To Dysart By The Coast Of Fife

Get Directions

Return to jnct 2 and turn south on the M90. After the M90 becomes the A90 take the B981 into Inverkeithing. Join the A921 on the far side of Inverkeithing, passing the monument to Alexander III on your right between Kirkcaldy and Kinghorn. Leave Kirkcaldy on the A955 in order to reach Dysart.

By Cycle

Go east from the centre of Dunfermline on NCN 764 until turning south on meeting NCN1 near Queen Margaret station. Follow NCN1 to Inverkeithing. From Inverkeithing follow NCN 76, which shares much of the Coastal Path, from Inverkeithing to Kirkcaldy. From here the coastal path has not yet been developed for cycling. After coming up the hill out of Kirkcaldy turn right on the A955, and immediately right again into Ravenscraig Park to reach Dysart.

By FootWalkers can follow the Fife Coastal Path from Inverkeithing to Dysart.

By Public Transport

There are railway stations at Dunfermline, North Queensferry, Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay, Aberdour, Burntisland, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy. Bus routes also serve these towns, as well as Dysart.

To check times go to Traveline Scotland and click on Plan your Journey on left side of page.

Explore what has been called the ‘Columban Corridor’ linking Iona to its daughter house at Lindisfarne in Northumbria. St. Adomnan, Abbot of Iona, founded a monastery on Inchkeith Island, while on neighbouring Inchcolm, Margaret’s son Alexander, who was given shelter on the island in a storm by a Celtic hermit, initiated what became the ‘Iona of the East’. Here a later Abbot, Walter Bower, compiled his monumental History of Scotland, Scotichronicon, which delights in the stories of Margaret and the Celtic Saints.

Inchcolm can be reached on the Maid of the Forth from South Queensferry though it is much closer to this northern shore. The north coastal route is studded with port towns and historic churches from the pilgrim friary at Inverkeithing through Dalmeny, Aberdour, Burntisland, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy to Dysart. Named for St Serf’s refuge or ‘desert place’, Dysart is now a handsome village with a ruined Church of St Serf by the harbour. St Serf’s Cave is still secluded within the grounds of a Carmelite Community.

All along the coast the views across to Edinburgh and seawards down the firth are exceptionally fine. The bustle of modern commerce and pleasure craft on the water remind us that the paths of the Celtic saints were often seaways, and that many later pilgrims travelled by ferry under the protection of St Margaret. Watch out for grey seals, dolphins, sharks and occasionally whales.

Pilgrim Journeys

As a trusted partner of the National Churches Trust, we have access to a number of additional grants for projects as part of the Partnership Grants Programme. The Programme has provided over £1 million in grant funding towards repairs at churches and chapels over the last five years, and can now support some installation of facilities. Applications should be made directly to us following our usual application procedure.